


The Bad Guy

by babywarg (morphaileffect)



Series: Ironstrange Bingo [20]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, M/M, Magic, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-24 05:50:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20902667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morphaileffect/pseuds/babywarg
Summary: What does a bad guy with no powers and no high-powered weapons do?She breaks the hero’s heart.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheLadyStrange](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadyStrange/gifts).

> From a prompt by mistressstrange on tumblr: "Pepper becomes a villain to get Tony and Stephen together. Stephen would be such a better match for Tony. She just hadn’t expected to fall in love with the Sorcerer in the process."
> 
> This is part 1 of 2. If all works out, part 2 will be up tomorrow (if not, and I end up being late, I apologize in advance ^^).
> 
> I haven’t used any of my drpepperony fics for my Ironstrange Bingo, but I want to use this for my “betrayal” prompt, even if the feeling of “betrayal” is on the pepperony side ^^ I hope that’s okay...

Pepper Potts knew that it doesn’t take much to be a bad guy.

You just have to get in the way of someone else’s happiness.

In the world of superheroes, being a “bad guy” usually comes with a few more requirements. You need powers, for example. Or at least high-powered weapons. In order to keep up with the demi-gods you grapple with.

And Pepper had neither. She was only human. And only human enough to have fallen for the very human side of a superhero named Tony Stark.

For a while, she thought the superhero had fallen for her, too.

But she should have known that she didn’t fit into his world.

That his eye would wander, and settle on others who had powers, like himself.

She was no fool. She saw how Tony looked at Stephen Strange. Saw how that look was returned, sometimes, when they thought no one else was paying attention (but she did, of course; she always did). She noticed how much time they spent alone together between battles. The way they stood near each other as often as they could.

And at around the time that started, Tony began to act differently around her. He became more evasive. More considerate, less confrontational.

It could only be because something had changed.

She’d tried to make him acknowledge it. Tried to ask, as gently as she could, if they were “okay,” if anything was wrong.

No, he had said, nothing was wrong.

Nothing was ever wrong.

Tony had said he loved her. Tony was going to stand by his commitments to her, and he had said he would never leave her.

Even if it was going to make him unhappy.

She was already the bad guy. Just by standing in the way of Tony’s happiness.

So, what does a bad guy with no powers and no high-powered weapons do?

She breaks the hero’s heart.

***

“Ms. Potts,” he said softly, “are you breaking up with me?”

These were his last words to her.

Hers, to him, were “Goodbye, Tony.”

She could see his heart crumbling to pieces in his eyes, as she turned away - every inch of him asking _Why? Why?_

She had asked for space. Made him promise to respect it. Afterwards, she blocked all avenues of contact with him that were anything but professional.

If she was going to be the bad guy, she was going to be the worst possible kind. She wasn’t going to half-ass this.

It was necessary.

As CEO of a major multinational corporation, she knew too well how sometimes - a lot of times - the most important decisions were the hardest ones to make.

This brand of cruelty ought to drive Tony into the right arms. Of the right person.

That was her calculated gamble.

But, like all gambles, there was still room for unforeseen variables to enter the equation.

Resulting in a chance of failure, however small.

***

_Iron Man Defeated_

It was breaking news everywhere she turned. And it happened several weeks after the split.

A supernatural evil had entered New York City. It was Doctor Strange’s department, but he called for help from the Avengers as well. He would not have done that if he had not needed it.

And of course Iron Man rushed to his aid.

True to his self-sacrificing ways, Iron Man took the worst beating. Perhaps Tony just didn’t think and impulsively used his own body to shield everyone. Perhaps he foolishly thought his armor could protect him from a being that likely did not even know what metal was.

As the being was sent back to its home dimension, Tony’s armor lay on the ground, battered and motionless.

The last that civilian cameras caught was Doctor Strange’s red cloak wrapping around the Iron Man, bearing him up and through a portal, through which Doctor Strange also disappeared.

***

Pepper ran out of the office as soon as she saw that video.

She knew where to go.

Predictably, paparazzi were already at the Stark Industries lobby, ready to assault her as soon as she stepped out of the elevator.

She didn’t care.

_“Ms. Potts, have you heard? What are your thoughts?”_

_“How true are the rumors that you and Tony have broken up?”_

_“People are saying that Mr. Stark was off his game because of your breakup, what do you think of that?”_

_"Do you blame yourself for what happened?"_

She walked straight-backed to the entrance to the parking lot, leaving Happy to handle the press.

If the press were expecting her to be emotional, anxious, everything she actually felt, they were set for disappointment.

She was the villain. She would play the part.

***

The New York Sanctum’s doors opened for her even before she could knock.

And Wong, the stern, taciturn caretaker, led her down its many hallways to where Tony Stark was being kept.

Doctor Strange was there. Of course he was. He had just finished some sort of incantation and was looking down pensively at Tony’s un-armored body, which was lying flat in the middle of a large glowing pentagram on the floor.

He turned to her without registering surprise.

“Ms. Potts,” he greeted grimly. “It’s good of you to come.”

Her stare was cold. “I just wanted to see him,” she said.

“He needs you to see him,” he agreed. “Over here. Please.”

He held out his hand to her. She ignored it. But stepped forward to the spot he indicated, close to Tony’s motionless form.

Once she was sitting, Strange walked around Tony’s body to sit on the other side of it. Tony lay between them. Pepper didn’t think she could see any sign of breathing.

“Sit. Place your hand over him like this.” He demonstrated. A blue light seemed to surround the hand he held out over Tony’s form.

It looked like magic. Pepper was skeptical that her imitating the gesture would do anything...

But when she held out her hand, a similar light wrapped around it. Pepper gasped.

It felt like something of hers was being pulled out - perhaps something from her lungs, or from her heart. Her breathing and heartbeat quickened in defiance.

But whatever was doing the pulling, was being gentle...and it seemed to take less, the more she resisted.

She realized she was in control. So she took one deep breath. Closed her eyes and concentrated on regulating the pull.

Only a little. Only for a minute.

When that minute was done, she withdrew her hand.

She opened her eyes, and saw Strange looking at her.

“Well done,” Strange said to her.

“What just happened?” Pepper asked.

“The creature we fought,” Strange began, prepared for this explanation, “hit Tony with a multitude of spells. I’ve put him on stasis, because it will take me days to clear all of them. But the trickiest and most urgent one to remove is the spirit drain. It eats away at his will to live, makes him more susceptible to the other spells.”

That did not sound good. “Can that...kill him?”

“Only if we let it. He needs people whom he loves to lend him their life force. He won’t take from anyone else.”

_Life force._ So that was the term for what was being pulled out of her.

Like a blood transfusion, of a sort.

“But, shouldn’t you -- “ _be enough?_ That was the question.

She didn’t need to finish it.

“You’re the most important person in his life, Ms. Potts. Still. Without question. I am not enough.”

Pepper almost felt guilty, meeting his gaze. But she forced herself not to be.

The man was probably a mind-reader, too. And she was not up to talking to him about Tony right now.

“You can’t give him too much,” Strange continued. “This will do, for now. You must rest. The both of us can try giving him a larger dose later.”

“Both of us?” Pepper echoed, incredulous.

Strange glanced down at Tony. Brushed a lock of hair from the unconscious man’s forehead.

“Yes,” he said quietly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper spends six days in the Sanctum, helping Doctor Strange heal Tony. In the process, Pepper and the sorcerer get to know each other a great deal more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest: at the start of writing, I had trouble thinking of Pepper as someone insecure enough to dump Tony because she felt inadequate. MCU Pepper, in my head, KNOWS Tony is lucky to have her. She fell in love with Tony the man, not the superhero, and she knew she could handle every aspect of the man.
> 
> But as I continued writing, I had a better sense of how it could work...and I hope I was able to convey my ideas for that.
> 
> BTW, I see MCU Strange as a bit more arrogant and show-offy than the Strange in this fic - but who's to say that if MCU Strange fell in love, he wouldn't act like this?
> 
> Originally planned this as a 2-parter, but a very short epilogue demanded to exist.

_I would advise that you stay here,_ Pepper was eventually told. _Tony’s recovery would go so much more quickly if we can schedule our sessions even at odd hours._

She was supposed to protest. She was supposed to say that she had better things to do. That she had a company to run. That Tony wasn’t the center of her life (anymore).

But something stopped her. She wasn’t sure what.

And the worst she could do was affect a haughty demeanor, as she said “Fine.”

A room was made for her. And it was comfortable.

She made up her mind that as soon as Tony woke up, she was leaving that place and never looking back.

***

Pepper sat opposite Strange every time, with their hands hovering over Tony’s torso, almost touching, the blue auras around their hands at times melding into one.

She found that the “pulling” sensation was easier to manage when the light around their hands turned into a single halo.

It was as if Strange was carrying part of the burden.

“That’s enough for now.” Those words from Strange were the signal. Pepper withdrew her hand, and the light faded.

The feeling of being “pulled” withdrew as well, leaving her feeling a bit tired.

“It can’t be,” Pepper commented. “I’m not seeing any changes.” It was their fourth session, on the second day. Tony had not even moved an inch.

“It may take a while.” Strange did not share her alarm. The man must have all the time in the world.

However, Pepper didn’t. She was told that Tony would recover more quickly if she had stayed at the Sanctum. She could not afford to do that for long. She told Strange as much.

“Besides,” she added, “he may not want to see me when he wakes up.”

Strange said nothing. So she stood up.

“Once he’s awake, I can go, right? You can take care of him after?”

“If that’s what you really want,” Strange finally answered.

It was Pepper’s turn not to speak. She simply turned and left the room.

He was the best person to take care of Tony. They both knew it.

Why wouldn’t she want to leave Tony in his capable hands?

***

Stephen spent a fair bit of time alone with Tony, in the room with the glowing pentagram on the floor.

Pepper wasn’t happy with it, or with the thought that he was the first person Tony would see once he opened his eyes.

But she reminded herself: she had no right to be bothered by that.

She was there to help. That was all.

But on the third day, when it was already midday and Strange hadn’t come to her saying it was time for another session, she started to sense that she was being left out of something important.

She made her way back to the room. Opened the door.

“You haven’t called me down, so...”

Her voice trailed off when she saw Strange.

The sorcerer was on his hands and knees close to Tony’s body - white as a sheet, vomiting pitch black liquid that was forming a large pool outside the pentagram.

She rushed to his side. She knew a little first aid, but had no idea what was wrong. What she had to do.

“My God. Doctor Strange! Are you all right?”

He clung to her arms. His hands were scarred. His grip strong but unsteady.

Why had she never noticed before how damaged his hands were?

“Some ancient civilizations believed,” he began shakily, “that shamans could draw out evil from a person’s body and take it into their own...and heal that way. Sometimes...they were right.”

His grip grew tighter for a moment as another wave of nausea hit. Some of the fresh black bile got onto Pepper’s skirt, her shoes. But she stayed put.

Strange caught his breath, wiped his lips with his sleeve, and pulled himself upright.

“I’ll be fine,” he said to her. “I’m sorry you had to see that...”

“You were taking the spells in Tony’s body - into yours?”

Strange coughed, nodded. Wiped his lips again. “No other way.”

“I’m here to help,” she told him, despite her better judgment. “Can I...can I take some of it, too?”

Strange looked at her. And it felt like the first time Pepper noticed how blue his eyes were in this light, against the pallor of his face.

And how much pain he was in.

“I can see why he loves you,” escaped him.

He dropped his gaze quickly, as if ashamed to have said that aloud. And she didn’t pursue it.

“You give of yourself,” Strange dispassionately continued. “That’s more than enough. But maybe...you can help me up?”

She did so, without hesitation. She was slight, but by no means frail. She slid one arm around his waist from behind, hitched one of his arms over her shoulders, and bore his lean frame up.

As Strange staggered out of the room, held upright by Pepper, he muttered that he needed to get out of there. Needed to find Wong. Wong would know what to do.

Pepper called aloud for Wong, and didn’t have to do it for long. In an instant, the Sanctum’s caretaker was there, to take Strange from her with a gracious nod.

“There won’t be any sessions today, Ms. Potts,“ Strange labored to say. “You can go home if you wish. Later, Wong will open a portal to wherever you want to go. I would ask, however, that you return tomorrow.”

As Pepper was thinking of an answer, Wong carried Strange off.

Later, Wong would find her. And ask what she had decided.

She would decide to stay.

Pepper asked how else she could help. Was there anything Strange needed? Perhaps she could help clean up at the room Tony was in?

Wong simply said “Everything has been taken care of.”

Well, that was efficient of him.

So Pepper spent the rest of the day in her room in the Sanctum, gathering as much strength as much as she could, in preparation for the next session.

She found her thoughts split between Tony and Strange all that day.

Stephen Strange. She wished she could hate him.

But seeing all that he was doing for Tony’s sake made that impossible.

***

The next day, it was as if Strange was never sick. 

Color was back in his cheeks. He was in a good mood, even...which made zero sense, considering how close to death he himself seemed just yesterday.

He apologized, because they needed to make up for time lost by going on extended sessions that day. But he promised he was going to take care of her.

Which sounded silly to Pepper. All the previous sessions had been tolerable. She would just need to rest, wouldn’t she, and she would be fine again?

...but as it turned out, it wasn’t that simple. The longer she gave of her “life force” to Tony, the less strength remained in her body.

After their first session that day (only two sessions, Strange said with a doctor’s firmness: one in the morning and one at night), Strange needed to assist her as she walked with him out of the room. And into a recovery room he had prepared for the both of them.

It was a small, cozy sunroom that appeared to double as a greenhouse; it was filled with flowers and plants Pepper had never seen before.

There was a hammock, which Strange had for some reason allotted for her exclusive use, a small table, and a couple of lounge chairs. Strange took one of said chairs.

Pepper was grateful for the hammock. It was cozy, and it seemed that being surrounded by all those exotic plants helped her relax.

Strange didn’t talk a lot, at first. She was grateful for that, too. Each extended session left them both drained. They lay or sat in silence as they recovered their strength.

Then, Strange asked out of the blue, “What sort of music do you like?”

Classical, she answered. And Chopin’s Nocturne No. 2, Op. 9 piped into the room.

Strange waved his hand, and a pot of tea and two cups appeared on the small table.

Before she knew it, she was sipping tea and telling the sorcerer about Tony’s taste in music - how it used to drive her crazy, because she didn’t quite “get” rock and roll. But she ended up liking it, as well, because of him.

She was telling him a lot about Tony.

(She paused to ask what was in the tea. Strange shrugged and said, with a note of amusement, “Just tea. With a little honey.”)

Strange quietly listened. And Pepper felt that his curiosity was genuine - his quaint, polite responses didn’t make her feel as if he was gathering information for malicious purposes, or patronizing her.

He sincerely wanted to know more. About Tony. About her.

Their first conversation in that sunroom lasted hours. Pepper felt the passing of time only vaguely. She lost count of the things they discussed. The topics ranged from the philosophical (“Humans are conditioned, not born, to be monogamous.”) to the personal (“Why have kids? They’re just going to get in the way of work.”) and she was surprised to find that they more or less agreed on a lot of the same things.

She found it honestly rejuvenating. And it led her to realize: being in Stark Industries, being in Tony’s life, meant living in opposition to a lot of things. There was industry gossip, other people’s opinion, even Tony’s self-destructive tendencies - too many things.

But in Strange’s presence, she felt that, finally, she might have found a place to lay down her sword and shield.

Was it safe to think of him as a friend? It might be nice to think he wasn’t somehow manipulating her, or using any magic to influence her regard of him.

It might be nice to think that the person she was leaving Tony to was a good guy.

Not like she was.

She could have talked to him well into the evening. But he stood, signaling the end of their conversation. He told her they had rested enough, and it was almost time for their second session.

She imagined his voice sounded a great deal softer than it did at the beginning.

“And please,” he said, “call me Stephen.”

He held out a lightly shaking hand to help her to her feet, and she took it.

***

It had been five days.

Tony wasn’t responding to their sessions, and the worry inside Pepper had reached its boiling point.

For once, she let the “pull” grow stronger. _Made_ it grow stronger. The light over Tony’s body that enveloped her hand and the sorcerer’s turned a deeper shade of blue.

“Ms. Potts,” she heard off the edge of her consciousness.

She wasn’t giving up. She was going to stay for as long as Tony needed her to. Give as much as Tony took -

_“Ms. Potts!”_

It was a shout. She felt it like a shove.

Her back hit the floor. And she was surprised to find she didn’t have the strength to get back up.

She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. She was starting to feel cold. What was happening?

“Too much,” she heard Strange - Stephen - say nearby. “I’ve got you.”

He did have her. Gently lifted her head and placed it on his lap.

“I’ve got you,” he said again. Then she started to feel warmth flooding into her body, from a spot between her stomach and her chest.

She found the strength to lift her head some more, and saw he’d placed his hand over her torso, similar to what he did with Tony. A pale blue light shone from it.

It looked like he was trying to transfer his life force into her, too. She wasn’t sure.

Her mind was fuzzy. The warm feeling made her want to sleep.

“Why didn’t you just let me do it?” she murmured.

Stephen didn’t answer. His brows were furrowed in concentration. Whatever he was doing, he was not finding it easy.

“Why are you being so good to me?” she went on to ask. “I’m the bad guy here. I’m the reason this happened to him.”

She didn’t feel like explaining. A part of her wanted to believe he didn’t really hear.

So she was surprised when he answered: “Ms. Potts...you’re not the reason this happened to him. You’re the reason he’s still alive.”

Oh, Pepper said to herself, that’s right - she never told Stephen about the breakup. Not once, through that entire day when they talked for hours.

“Sometimes,” Stephen continued, “people let go of the ones they love when they think they’ll be happier elsewhere. Sometimes it’s for the best. But sometimes, it brings nothing but pain.”

She wasn’t sure she understood. If he didn’t know about the breakup, he might have been talking about something else.

But had he read it off her mind? Had Tony really never told him? Did it even really matter if he knew?

“When a person in a relationship decides how the other person should feel...that’s when the clusterfuck happens.”

A chuckle escaped Pepper. “You’re not saying we’re in a relationship, are you, Doctor Strange?”

Nothing was making sense to her anyway. So there was no point in regulating what was coming out of her mouth.

“I’m saying, Ms. Potts,” he patiently replied, “that I’ve seen bad guys, and I’ve seen bad guys. You’re not a bad guy. Not by a longshot.”

He withdrew his hand, and the pale light disappeared. He seemed to slump over her.

She reached up to touch his face. He cradled her hand in his.

Later, they would spend time in the sunroom again. Both without much strength or willingness to carry on a conversation.

But they stayed like that in the room where Tony was, for a long while - his tired, wiry body bent forward, her head on his lap.

***

The next morning, Pepper heard a knock on the door.

She assumed it was Wong, bringing in her breakfast. She just wasn’t sure she was up for breakfast. Or even to getting out of bed.

Her little stunt from last night cost her more energy than she thought it would. She still felt heavy, sluggish. She must have passed out in the sunroom. And Strange must have carried her back to the room assigned to her in the Sanctum, so she could spend the night on a proper bed.

She said “Come in.” The door opened slowly. She didn’t bother looking to see who was there.

“Good morning, Ms. Potts,” said a deep, familiar voice. "Rise and shine."

Not Wong’s voice. Or Stephen’s.

Whatever magic was in that voice got her bolting out of bed.

And jumping into Tony’s arms.

He was all right. _He was all right._

And just a little disheveled. Not a single scar. Not a thing about him changed.

Pepper forgot, for a glorious moment, that they were no longer together. That she wasn’t supposed to be so happy.

But by the time she remembered that, Tony was already holding her to him so tightly, there was no escape.

Tony had been accompanied into the room by Stephen, who stood silently off to one side, as the emotional reunion took place.

When Pepper got a close look at him, from over Tony’s shoulder, she saw that he was pale again, like he was a couple of days ago.

But he was smiling.

He must have drained the last curse from Tony’s body. Given him enough life force to bring him back to consciousness. It must have been a lot.

She should thank him. They both should.

But Tony wouldn’t let her go. And before she could break off his embrace, Stephen had left the room.

***

Tony was feeling great. Better than ever. He wanted to go home right away - mainly so he and Pepper could make love properly.

And just like that, it was time for the Talk.

Pepper reminded him that they had broken up. Or, more appropriately, that she had broken up with him.

They had never really spoken about it. Now, she supposed, was as good a time as any to do so.

Tony heard her out. And then quietly, sheepishly asked, “Is that what you really want?”

“It’s what’s best for you,” she said, sounding weak and unconvincing even to herself.

“With all due respect, Ms. Potts,” was the answer that easily tumbled out of Tony’s lips, “_you_ are what’s best for me. I learned that important life lesson a long time ago.”

So then it was time for Pepper to bring up Stephen Strange.

Tony took a moment to compose the answer in his head.

In the end, he settled on the words “I am sorry. If anything I have ever said or done has made you doubt my love for you.”

Was he attracted to Stephen Strange? Yes. Was he going to act on the attraction without her permission or knowledge? _Never._

“You’re going to have to face it, Pep,” he said, eyes twinkling with mischief, “hot people like Doctor Strange are always going to want some of this. That’s not going away until I’m like, eighty, and maybe not even then. But I made a promise to you, and only you, that I’d never leave.”

“I’m not your ball and chain, Tony,” she said sternly. “I’m not going to keep you from what makes you happy.”

“_You_ make me happy,” he said laughingly, but not without a note of frustration. “What are you going to do about that?”

Pepper sighed, but not without some relief.

“The only way you’ll get rid of me, Ms. Pepper Potts, is if you tell me you don’t love me anymore. Don’t tell me I deserve better, or that I’ll be happier elsewhere, because that’s not true. If you really want out, tell me that now. Tell me you just stayed in this weird place six days and saved me out of pity. Tell me you really don’t care.”

She tried.

She really did.

Because maybe there was still a chance to salvage this. Maybe she could still convince Tony that since he was a superhero, only another superhero who had feelings for him could be a good match.

It was the only logical, practical resolution.

But she looked into his eyes, and couldn’t say anything for a long, long time.

At last he kissed her. And she kissed him.

And this part of their story ended with no villain.


	3. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper prepares to go home with a fully recovered Tony. She sees Stephen at the Sanctum one last time to say goodbye.

She insisted on saying goodbye to Stephen properly. Tony wasn’t keen on it, especially after what he and Pepper had just discussed, “and besides, I’m bound to see him again soon! You know how this hero business works.”

“He saved your life, Tony,” she argued.

“Then let’s send him a fruit basket or something!” He kissed her, hoping it would spare him from any further discussion.

But once Pepper had made up her mind about something, no amount of kissing could stop her. As Tony knew too well.

She sought an audience with the Master of the New York Sanctum. Stephen received her with a stiff graciousness. He might still be recovering from his efforts to cure Tony. His posture said he would rather be slumped in a chair in a sunroom, surrounded by calming music and alien plants.

But there was a touch of something in his eyes, which did not escape Pepper. A hint of sadness.

Loneliness, maybe?

She stepped up to him. Promised him she wasn’t going to take long.

She planted a kiss on his cheek.

And saw the bewilderment on his face when she pulled away.

_This is a good guy. A good guy in love._

She took his hands, held them briefly.

_He deserves to be happy, too._

“Thank you,” she said, “and you’re welcome to come visit Tony and me. Any time you want.”

He smiled at her. Brought the back of her hand up to touch his lips softly.

“Same, Ms. Potts,” he said to her. “Maybe when things have calmed down, hopefully soon, we can catch up on things over tea.”

And she might have detected a note of flirtation there.

One that was better explored, perhaps, another time.

Maybe even with Tony present.

“Tea sounds good,” she answered softly, smiling.


End file.
